Dark Corners
by IamDragonFury
Summary: Toriel and Asgore announce that they plan to go through with the process to legally adopt Frisk, however, to do so, they find out that they must have the authorization of his biological parents. Tracking them down is easy enough, though, in doing so, they are introduced to the darker aspects of the surface world and humanity. Dark themes and implications ahead.
1. Chapter 1

Dark Corners

Chapter 1.

Here we go, finally getting on the story I have been wanting to write for a while now.

This story is one of the major reasons I started a new Undertale chronology in the first place.

* * *

It was early in the morning on a Saturday, the light of the sun letting itself in through the windows to alert everyone to the new day. Toriel was fast still sound asleep in her room, when her bedroom door suddenly opened. It was her recently restored son, Asriel Dreemurr.

He scurried to his mother's bed and looked closely at her face.

"Mom," he called softly, prodding her arm, "Momma, wake up."

It did not take long for Toriel to stir, her eyes opening halfway.

"Asriel," she asked groggily, "what is it, dear?"

"Mom," Asriel said excitedly, "it's morning!"

The goat woman glanced at her bedside clock and saw that it was only 7:00 a.m..

"What are you doing up so early?" Toriel inquired with a yawn.

"You said we'd try do _that thing_ today!" her son affirmed.

"Yes," Toriel replied, "but, the courthouse does not open until 8:00 a.m.."

"I know," Asriel said, "that's why I thought we could get up early and get ready."

"Darling," his mother assured him, "we have all day, we do not have to be ready the moment the courthouse opens."

the goat child looked a bit disappointed.

"Where is Frisk?" Toriel asked.

"Still sleeping." Asriel answered.

"Give it a little more time," his mother offered, "we will let Frisk wake up, _on his own_, then, once we are all up, we will talk about it over breakfast, okay?"

"Okay." the goat boy relented.

He then left the room and Toriel rested back down on her pillow with a smile.

* * *

It was about an hour and a half later that Toriel and Asgore were up and making breakfast, with the help of Undyne, Papyrus, Sans, and the recently restored Dr. Gaster, while Asriel was still in his room, waiting as patiently as he could for Frisk to wake up. They had decided that, today, Frisk could sleep as long as he wanted, because, it was a special day.

Finally, as the smell of breakfast filled the air, Frisk finally began to stir, much to Asriel's excitement.

"Good morning, Frisk!" Asriel said as the human child sat up in bed, barely able to contain his enthusiasm.

"Good morning." Frisk replied, rubbing his eyes.

He looked around curiously.

"What time is it?" the human boy asked.

"About 8:30." Asriel answered.

"Oh," Frisk yawned, "guess I slept in a bit."

"That's okay," Asriel responded, "come on, Mom and Dad should have breakfast just about ready."

* * *

Down in the kitchen, Asgore, Toriel, and the others were just getting the bountiful breakfast, that they had planned since yesterday, ready for the family. Alphys finally made her way to kitchen, having just woken up herself and was shocked by the amount of food on the table. Eggs, pancakes, waffles, french toast, bacon, ham, muffins, bagels, fresh fruit salad, it was probably the biggest breakfast she had ever seen.

"Wowie," Papyrus said, "I can't believe how much food we made in an hour."

"You know that we are no stranger to preparing meals," Toriel voiced proudly, "and it makes a difference to have extra pairs of hands in the kitchen."

She got out a stack of plates from the cupboard.

"That being said," she added, "thank you all for getting up so early to help us."

"Sure thing," Undyne said, "it's important after all."

"I have little experience in the kitchen," Gaster said, "but, it takes nothing to lend a hand when needed."

It was then Asriel and Frisk finally made it to the kitchen.

"Good morning everyone," Asriel said, tugging on Frisk's arm, "look who's up!"

Everyone collectively said "Good morning" to Frisk.

"Good morning everyone." the human boy replied.

His eyes quickly went wide as he noticed the abundant amount of food on the table.

"Whoa," Frisk responded in amazement, "what's all this food for?"

"It's for you, kiddo." Sans stated.

Frisk smiled as he was picked up by Dr. Gaster and placed in a chair at the breakfast table, Asriel wasted no time getting in the chair next to him.

"This all looks so good," Frisk said, "but, I don't remember doing anything recently to get this."

"It is not about what _you_ have done, Frisk," Toriel affirmed, setting a glass down in front the human child, "it is about what_ we_ want to do for you."

She opened the fridge.

"First," the goat woman asked, "what would you like to drink?"

"Iced Tea, please." the human boy requested.

Toriel happily filled his glass for him, afterwards she took a seat at the table, as did the rest of the family. Everyone was quick to fill their plates with a big helping of the breakfast feast.

"So, Frisk," Toriel inquired as the human child started eating a muffin, "how have you enjoyed living here with all of us?"

"You have to ask?" Frisk giggled, swallowing a mouthful of muffin, "It's been more than I could ever ask for, more than I thought I could ever have!"

He smiled as he cut into a pancake.

"I really don't know how I can make my appreciation of all of this," the human boy expressed, "of all of you any more clear."

"So...you would be for staying with us...permanently?" Asgore offered.

Frisk paused as he was shoveling bite after bite of pancake into his mouth, swallowing before he spoke again.

"Well..." he said awkwardly, "I had thought that was the plan...I had _hoped_ that was the plan."

"What he means, Frisk," Toriel voiced, handing both Frisk and Asriel a napkin, "is that we were thinking about making this arrangement _legally _official."

The human child cocked his head inquisitively.

"We have looked into it," the goat woman continued, "and we were thinking about...maybe going to the courthouse and pushing for your adoption."

Frisk's curious expression gradually turned hopeful as what she said registered with him.

"Like, you mean...you adopting me..." he asked for clarification, "for realsies?"

"We heard that if we take it up with the courthouse," Toriel, her enthusiasm growing as she spoke, "there are papers we can sign and if we do then legally you will be our son."

"And my brother!" Asriel uttered giddily, tugging on Frisk's arm.

The human child started bouncing excitedly in his chair.

"Yes, yes," Frisk expressed ecstatically, "please, I want that, please do it, please!"

Everyone laughed in response to the human boy's excitement.

"Okay," Asgore said, brimming with joy, "once we finish breakfast, we will get ready and go to the courthouse."

In response to that, Frisk immediately began shoveling as much food as he could manage into his mouth, actually attempting to swallow it all at once.

"For the love of God, kiddo," Sans exhorted, grabbing Frisk's wrist, "pace yourself before you choke!"

* * *

Let's see if this can turn out nearly as well as it has in my head.


	2. Chapter 2

Dark Corners

Chapter 2.

Moving On.

I legitimately looked into actual processes for adoption in real life, but, there was so much to go through, I decided that I would take a good deal of liberties with the process in this story. There is no way of knowing how close to real life human society is in the world of Undertale anyway, monsters exist in this world for God's sake.

* * *

Following breakfast, Toriel and Asgore got ready and at about 9:30 a.m. they made their way to the courthouse where, after several minutes of waiting, they finally got to see one of front desk agents, a woman with light brown hair and wearing thick glasses. The woman at the desk was visibly surprised to see a pair of monsters approach her desk, but, quickly found composure, possibly recognizing them.

"Hello," the woman voiced politely, "can I help you?"

"We're Asgore Dreemurr and Ms. Toriel," Asgore said, "we came in yesterday."

"Oh, yes," the woman attested, "you were inquiring about adoption."

"Yes," Toriel affirmed, "and we have decided to finally go through with it, if we can."

The woman looked at something on her computer.

"Okay, so," she said, "the first thing we'll need to do is have a social worker come by for an evaluation."

"What does that entail?" Asgore wondered.

"The social worker will come to your place and make sure the house is a suitable environment for the child in question," the desk agent explained, "they will also have to ask you and Frisk *wink* some questions, and if everything seems in order, they'll present you with the adoption form and take it from there."

"Okay, that sounds simple enough," Toriel replied, "when will we be able to do that?"

"Well," the woman asked, "when would be the most convenient for you?"

Asgore and Toriel looked at each other thoughtfully.

"Um...would...today be possible?" Asgore inquired.

The woman spent a moment looking through something on her computer screen.

"We do have someone available today," the desk agent informed them, "would today at 5:00 p.m. be okay?"

"Yes," Toriel said gladly, Asgore nodding in agreement, "it would be perfect!"

* * *

Back at the house, Frisk and Asriel were looking out the window, eagerly awaiting for Toriel and Asgore to get home.

"Children," Dr. Gaster said, "you know waiting by the window won't get them home any faster."

"I know," Frisk replied, "I just can't wait to here how it went."

"I hope they didn't have trouble getting in." Asriel said.

"Well," the skeleton man affirmed, "you'll have to be patient, a trip to the courthouse is only the first step in the process."

"They're just lucky that they already got Frisk on hand," Sans said, watching television, "otherwise, the process would be a whole lot harder and more expensive."

Just then they heard a vehicle door slam, prompting Frisk to look out the window again.

"They're home!" the human boy uttered happily, "They're home, they're home!"

He and Asriel ran to the door as Toriel and Asgore came inside, Frisk throwing his arms around Toriel while Asriel looked at them both with anticipation.

"How'd it go?" Frisk asked hopefully.

"Is Frisk ours yet?" Asriel asked with the same excitement.

"We are on the right track." Toriel told them mirthfully.

"Now we're just gonna have someone come by to look at the house and ask us some questions," Asgore added, "if it goes well, they'll move forward with it."

Frisk and Asriel both jumped up and down joyfully in response.

* * *

So, for the next several hours, the family went about getting the house clean and orderly for the social worker's evaluation. Toriel was busy thoroughly vacuuming the living room, even going as far as to vacuum the stairs to the second floor of the house, while Asriel and Frisk tidied up their room. In the kitchen, Asgore was doing the dishes with the help of Undyne and Papyrus, while Sans used his telekinetic powers to put the clean dishes away. Downstairs, Alphys was getting the lab equipment in order with the help of Dr. Gaster.

"I wonder if we should put all of this away before the social worker comes." Alphys mused.

"We should at least put away anything related to fire, cutting implements, and chemicals," Gaster attested, "also, we should make sure all the safety gear, especially the kids', is front and center."

Alphys started putting things in their storage, the things that could not fit in containment were moved as far out of sight as possible. As she did that, Gaster picked up a container of disinfectant wipes.

"And if you guys insist on eating at this lab table," the skeleton man asserted as he swabbed the lab table's surface with a wipe, "you need to clean it off when you're done."

"Tell your oldest that," Alphys retorted, "half of that mess is his!"

Upstairs, after getting all the dishes put away, Sans used his telekinetic powers to take out the garbage, as he put in a new trash bag, he noticed Papyrus on all fours in front of the refrigerator.

"Pap," Sans asked, "what are you doing?"

"I finished cleaning the floor, now I just need to clean under fridge," the tall skeleton answered, "Toriel did say we should be as thorough as possible."

"I don't think the social worker is gonna care about how clean the underside of the fridge is," the short skeleton said, "I think they'll be more concerned that there's stuff _in_ the fridge."

"Speaking of which," Papyrus responded, "we used up an awful lot of food making breakfast this morning, do you think there's enough left in here?"

"There's plenty of food in this kitchen," Sans assured him, "and Frisk is clearly well fed, it'll be fine, we've got this evaluation in the bag."

"I hope so." his younger brother said tensely.

Upstairs, Toriel was cleaning the bathroom, while Asgore and Undyne cleaned the downstairs bathrooms. Asgore was baffled as he scrubbed the bathroom mirror clean.

"How are there so many fingerprints on these things?" the goat man wondered, "Who touches a mirror this often?"

"Uh, Asgore," he heard from the doorway, it was Undyne, "question."

He looked and saw the fish woman holding...something in her hand.

"What do I do with this?" Undyne asked awkwardly.

"What is it!?" Asgore questioned in shock.

It was wet, amorphous, and hideously multicolored.

"I pulled it out of the drain in the other bathroom sink," Undyne told him, looking at the mass in disgust, "I think it's all hair."

"Just flush it down the toilet, any toilet!" Asgore insisted.

The fish woman shrugged and walked away, presumably, hopefully, to flush the wad of hair.

While Toriel was finishing cleaning the upstairs bathroom, Frisk and Asriel were working together to polish the banister, with Asriel doing the part on the upper floor and Frisk doing the part down along the stairs.

"Do you think we should do the stairs, too?" Frisk inquired, "I know Toriel vacuumed them, but, maybe they could use a wipe-down?"

"That couldn't hurt." Asriel replied.

Together they went about swabbing down the stairs with disinfectant wipes.

* * *

After four hours of thorough house work, the family had finished cleaning as best they could; with the house clean, Toriel advised both Frisk and Asriel to take showers before the social worker came so they could all look presentable.

Finally, by 5:00 p.m., with the house and both children in good order, they were ready for their evaluation. Just in time, as they heard the doorbell ring.

"Here we go, children," Toriel said, "remember to be polite."

* * *

Inching ever so closely to the meat of this story.


	3. Chapter 3

Dark Corners

Chapter 3.

Onto the evaluation.

* * *

Toriel took a deep breath and exhaled before opening the door, being met with a young woman with long auburn hair, held up in a ponytail, hazel eyes, and dressed in a black pantsuit with a red shirt underneath. From the professional-looking name tag on her lapel and the clipboard and folder in her hands, there was no mistaking that she was the social worker they were expecting.

"Hello," the woman voiced buoyantly, "this the Dreemurr residence, yes?"

"Yes it is," Toriel affirmed, "you must be the social worker."

"Yep," the young woman answered blithely, "I'm Alice Stein, from the Children's Bureau, I'll be doing your adoption evaluation today."

"Right," Asgore replied, "we are all ready for it."

"First things first," Alice said, "we always start with a quick look at the house to assess the suitability of the environment for the child in question."

"Okay," Toriel responded, "where should we start?"

"How about the general living area?" the social worker suggested.

* * *

The social worker began making her rounds, starting with Toriel showing off the living room.

"We all worked together to make this house big enough for all of us," Toriel explained, "there is plenty of sitting room in the living room for everyone and we always make sure to keep the floor clear of clutter."

Alice took a good look at the coat hanging area on the wall by the front door, as well as the wicker basket that held a variety of neatly arranged pairs of shoes and boots.

"It makes vacuuming easier." Toriel stated.

Alice wrote something down on the paper attached to her clipboard and smiled at Toriel.

"Since it's right there," she offered, "why don't we move on to the kitchen?"

Toriel led her to the kitchen, where Papyrus and Sans were.

"Oh my," Alice noted, looking the kitchen up and down, "it's bigger than it looks from the other room."

"Yeah," Sans said, "given how active we are in here, we made sure it was pretty spacious."

"Excellent," the social worker replied, "are you two occupants of the house as well?"

"We sure are," Sans affirmed, "I'm Sans and this is my brother Papyrus."

"Greetings, Miss Social Worker," Papyrus said, "welcome to our home, we spent all day getting it ready for you."

"I see," Alice voiced genially, "I'll be taking a look around now, okay?"

Papyrus and Sans sat at the table to get out of the social workers way as she looked around, she first ran the water in the sink and looked closely at it. She then smiled and wrote something down on her clipboard, blissfully mumbling, "Crystal clear."

Alice then went on to open each cupboard and look closely at what was inside, sporadically writing on her clipboard as she went, until she finally got to the fridge.

"Just so you know," Papyrus suddenly spoke, "we made a big, _big_ breakfast this morning and used up a good amount of food, so, the fridge and cupboards aren't as stocked as they usually are."

"Pap," Sans admonished warily, "let her work."

The social worker closed the fridge and wrote on her paper again.

"How often do you cook?" Alice inquired, glancing between Toriel and the skeleton brothers.

"We cook every day," Toriel said, "at least, I try to encourage three square meals every day."

"I only ask because your stove and oven are so remarkably clean." the social worker replied.

"Oh," Toriel voiced proudly, "well, I am a stickler for cleanliness, we did spend a lot of time cleaning today, also, when I cook, I prefer to use my fire magic over the stove or the oven, when I can."

"And I see child-sized aprons," Alice inquired, "do the kids help in the kitchen?"

"They do," Toriel affirmed, "but, they are supervised the entire time, I still do not let them remove the hot food from the oven, and they are forbidden from using the stove by themselves."

Alice nodded approvingly as she wrote on her clipboard again.

"I think that should do it for in here." she said.

She looked toward the doorway of the kitchen.

"Now, from the windows I saw on the bottom part of the house," Alice quizzed, "I take you have a basement, yes?"

"We do," Toriel confirmed, "it doubles as Alphys and Undyne's, two other residents of the house, living space...though..."

It was then Sans cleared his throat, clearly to get their attention.

"Also," he told the social worker, "it's used as a lab, me, Alphys, and my dad do science experiments down there from time to time."

Alice looked on, stunned.

"You...have a lab?" she inquired quizzically.

"My turn," Sans said, getting up from his chair, "right this way."

* * *

Sans led the social worker down the stairs to basement, where Alphys and Dr. Gaster were, both of them standing by the lab table.

"Oh my," an astonished Alice surveyed, "you...really do have a lab."

"I-I assure you," Alphys voiced tensely, "all three of us h-have prior lab experience, we keep a t-tidy, stable, and secure lab."

"And believe me," Gaster added, "I have standards, this lab is so sterile you could eat off this lab table...though I would prefer it if people _didn't_."

"Not now, Dad." Sans stated flatly.

Alice looked around the room, unsure what to think.

"Um, so..." she wondered, "do the children come down here?"

"They're not allowed down here unsupervised," Sans affirmed, "and if they do come down here while the lab is active, we have safety gear for them that they have to wear the entire time and afterwards we make them bathe."

"Mine and Undyne's living space is over there." Alphys added, pointing to the far end of the basement, where there was a bed, a black loveseat with an ottoman, two mini fridges, a microwave, a portable stove, a television, some electronics, and a shelf of Manga, DVDs, and video games.

"I see," Alice queried, "now, if this is used as living space, what do you use for storage?"

"The attic," Gaster answer, "which is where I sleep, and the garage."

"I need to see the backyard anyway," Alice voiced, writing on her clipboard, "so, let's move on to the garage."

* * *

Sans led Alice outside to the garage, where Asgore was.

"Hey Asgore," Sans said, "Miss Stein wants to take a look inside the garage."

"Ah, right," Asgore replied, "just a moment, Miss."

He quickly unlocked and lifted up the big garage door, showing the inside of the garage, with boxes stacked carefully in the back coroners and some shelves on the wall with miscellaneous items on them. There was just enough room in the garage for one vehicle, Toriel's SUV.

It did not take long for Alice to get a thorough look of the garage, afterwards, she turned her attention to the backyard, where Undyne was.

"This is where the children play when the weather is nice enough." Asgore told the social worker.

"And they got plenty of stuff to do out here." Undyne called, standing on top of the jungle gym.

"I see that," Alice noted, "it's quite a set-up they got out here."

"Of course," Asgore voiced, "there is always someone out here with them, just in case."

The social worker smiled, and, after a quick inspection of the gate around the yard, wrote on her clipboard again.

* * *

Next Alice made her way up to the attic, which Dr. Gaster told her about.

"Like I said," Gaster told her, "I merely sleep up here, the rest of the space is for random storage, we will have holiday stiff stored up here eventually."

The social worker looked down at the floor, shifting her feet to test the floor boards.

"The kids aren't allowed up here without permission," the skeleton man voiced, "though, usually the only time they ever come up here is to wake me up in the morning."

* * *

After what felt like an eternity, the social worker's evaluation of the house was done, now it was on to the questions. For that, Asgore, Toriel, Asriel, and Frisk met Alice at the kitchen table.

"Is it okay if I stay for this?" Asriel asked.

"_Is_ that okay, Miss Stein?" Asgore asked the social worker.

"You can stay," Alice told Asriel, "I just need to ask your mommy, daddy, and Frisk some questions."

She opened the folder she had been holding.

"To be honest," she expressed meekly, "I already know quite a bit about all of you, just about everyone does from the news, all of this is simply a formality."

"We understand." Toriel stated.

"First off," Alice affirmed, "I should say that the house evaluation was satisfactory, aside from a few surprises, it's clear that the house is in top-notch condition and you have the children's well-being firmly in check."

The social worker put her folder down on the table.

"Now," she asked, putting her hands together and pointing them at Asgore and Toriel, "while I already know the answer to this, I am required to ask, are either of you employed?"

"Yes," Toriel answered, "we both are."

"And, also obvious," Alice went on, "but, do you already have any children of your own or any prior experience with children in general?"

"We sure do." Asgore said.

Alice smiled in response.

"Now," she inquired, "how would you describe your community."

"Well," Toriel attested, "if it was not made clear already, just about everyone knows everyone around here, especially Frisk."

"So would you say this, by all accounts, a child-friendly neighborhood?" Alice added.

"Oh, absolutely," Asgore said, "the children have plenty to do around here."

"Okay," the social worker continued, "now, do you guys have the resources on hand in case of an emergency?"

"Of course," Toriel told her, "we have plenty of medical supplies on hand, just in case no one is around to provide healing magic, we have emergency supplies on hand in case there is a natural disaster, we have four fire extinguishers in the house, since monster food never goes bad, we never have to worry about our emergency rations spoiling, we are about as prepared as you can get."

"Good to hear." Alice responded happily.

She picked up her folder again.

"All right," the social worker mused, "so, the environment is satisfactory, necessities are clearly not an issue, safety is no issue, plenty of adult supervision..."

She hummed to herself as she pulled a piece of paper from her folder.

"All right," Alice said, "one last question, leading into the final step, if it's needed..."

Frisk smiled in anticipation.

"Finally," Alice wondered, "are the biological parents involved with this arrangement?"

The human boy's smile dropped instantly as a heavy silence fell over the room.

"Biological..." Toriel droned.

"Parents?" Asgore huffed awkwardly.

"Well," Alice explained, "if the birth parents are still alive, then, as far as the law is concerned, Frisk still has parents and if an adoption is going to happen, their consent is required."

Asgore and Toriel looked at each other, then everyone looked at Frisk, who was visibly uneasy.

"Frisk," the social worker asked directly, "are your parents still alive?"

Frisk tightened his lips as he looked on anxiously.

"Frisk," Toriel prompted gently, "answer her...be honest."

The human child closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and let it out.

"Last I knew..." he admitted, "yes...they are..."

Toriel gasped quietly, while Asgore just looked shocked.

"As far as I know, I mean," Frisk went on, now trying to avoid eye contact with anyone, "I knew that both we alive...the day I climbed the mountain..."

"Miss Stein," Toriel suddenly requested, "can we...talk to Frisk alone for a moment?"

The social worker allowed it, sensing the mood shift of the room, and stepped outside.

"Okay, Frisk," Toriel voiced firmly, "it is time you told us the truth, about why you climbed the mountain."

"And who your birth parents are." Asgore added.

For the first time ever, the human boy looked defeated and for the first time since he had ever been with his new family, his eyes filled with tears.

"I'll...I'll tell you..." Frisk whimpered, "but...I..."

The goat family looked on with concern as tears flowed down his face.

"I don't want daddy to get in trouble!" Frisk cried.

"Your daddy?" Toriel replied warily, "why would your daddy get in trouble? What did he do to you, Frisk?"

"Nothing!" Frisk asserted, slamming his little fists down on the table top, "Daddy didn't do anything wrong, it's not about what he did_ to_ me, it's about what he's done _for_ me, about what I've done for _him_!"

"What do you mean, Frisk?" Asgore pressed, "What did you do for your dad?"

Frisk sniffled, trying to fight through his sobs.

"I did...the same thing...I did...for you guys..." the human boy declared, breathing deeply to will his tears away, "I. Set. Him. FREE!"

Asgore, Toriel, and Asriel looked on confused and still very concerned.

"I ran away from home and climbed the mountain so Daddy...wouldn't have to be a daddy anymore!" Frisk explained firmly.

* * *

Wow, I was not originally going to make this chapter this long, but, it was hard to stop.


	4. Chapter 4

Dark Corners

Chapter 4.

The process continues.

* * *

Toriel rubbed her temple as she tried to make sense of what Frisk was saying.

"Frisk," she questioned, very perplexed, "what do you mean you...left so 'Daddy would not have to be a daddy anymore'?"

Frisk looked on, displaying his famous determination.

"Everything Daddy did was for me," Frisk related, "there was only one bedroom in our home, so, when I was a baby, we shared it, but, when I turned five, Dad let me have the room to myself, while he slept on the couch. We didn't always have a lot of food, but, I never went hungry; every time he made me food, Dad would say that he didn't need any, because he already ate...but, I know he didn't, I know he'd skip meals often just so I could have more to eat..."

"Frisk-" Asgore tried to say.

"I'm not done!" the human boy interjected.

Asgore flinched in response.

"Daddy worked _hard_," Frisk continued emotionally, "he worked so hard, so often, and he would always come home exhausted and sore, covered in cuts and bruises, sometimes even with a black eye or a bloody lip, he'd try to hide the injuries, but, I saw them!"

All were silent for several seconds.

"One day when he came home from work," the human boy went on, "he went in to take a shower, I heard him hissing, gasping, like he was really hurt, then I found that he forgot to lock the door. I opened the door, just a little, and Daddy was facing the opposite direction, when he pulled his shirt off, I saw...his back...was just..._covered_ in horrible bruises and scars, old and new, gashes that were still bleeding, it looked so painful. I shut the door before he knew I was there."

Frisk stood up on his chair.

"Anytime I asked where he got his injuries," he told them, "he would say that he got them from work, because, he worked so hard."

The human boy shook his head.

"That day I saw his back I decided," he professed, "he works so hard, because of me, well, if I'm not here, then he won't have to work so hard and get hurt all the time, give up food, sleep on that hard old couch, just to take care of me!"

Toriel closed her eyes and shook her head in disbelief, while Asgore just looked on, dumbfounded.

"If I went back," Frisk said dismally, "then I'd have climbed Mount Ebott for nothing."

"What...were you gonna do on Mount Ebott?" Asriel asked.

"Live there," Frisk answered, "anytime someone brought the mountain up, Dad would say that it's probably a lot safer than where we lived."

Asriel sighed in relief, having expected a far worse answer.

"Where was your dad when you ran away, Frisk?" Toriel queried.

"...Working," Frisk answered, "he was gone for a long time, so, while I was alone, I wrote a note for him, climbed out onto the fire escape, then walked through the back part of town until I reached the wilderness and kept walking until I reached the mountain."

"What about your mother, Frisk?" Asriel wondered.

"Yes," Asgore chimed in, "you said both your parents were alive, where was your mother all that time?"

Frisk sat back down.

"I don't know," he sighed, "I don't even know her, I've seen her, but, Dad didn't like talking about her and if she ever came over Dad would tell me to lock myself in my room until she left, I don't even know her name, but, Dad surely does."

"So she did not live with you." Toriel figured.

Frisk shook his head.

"Frisk," Asriel quizzed, "what's your daddy's name?"

"Mettle," Frisk answered, "Mettle Thole."

"Oh, that's different," the goat child responded, "but, still nice."

"Everyone had rare, strange, all-around unheard of names where we lived." Frisk said.

"So your last name is Thole?" they heard.

They looked and saw Sans standing in the doorway of the living room.

"How long have you been there?" Toriel questioned.

"I wasn't trying to eavesdrop or anything," the short skeleton said, "but, I could hear everything from the living room."

"Well," Frisk affirmed, "yeah, my last name is Thole, I just...never felt like bringing it up, since I've been aiming for a new life."

The family was silent for a moment.

"But, I really wanna be Frisk Dreemurr," the human boy professed, "I love you all so much!"

"We know," Asgore assured him, "and we love you too, Frisk."

"But," Toriel inquired, "why are you afraid your daddy will get in trouble, Frisk?"

"Because of the home evaluation...and then those questions," Frisk expressed, "at first, I was worried that the social worker would find something wrong here, even if it was one little thing, and deny the adoption. But, as soon as she mention 'biological parents', I immediately thought about my old home...it was...almost the opposite of here, if it had an evaluation it surely wouldn't have passed, my Dad probably wouldn't have passed, I was scared that if anyone found out, it would get to the authorities and my Dad would get in trouble...even though it wasn't his fault at all."

"Kid," Sans asked, "I hate to make you repeat yourself, but, just tell me, did your dad ever hurt you?"

"No," Frisk asserted, "he never even yelled at me."

"Did he ever neglect you at all?" the short skeleton added.

"No," the human boy answered, "like I said, I never went hungry, Dad always made sure I showered and brushed my teeth before I went to bed, whenever he wasn't sleeping he spent all his time with me, we didn't go outside often, Dad was nervous about taking me around our neighborhood, but, we spent plenty of time together at home. When I was too little to be left alone, when he went to work, he had close friends of his keep an eye on me until he could come home."

"Well then," Sans said, "if your dad didn't abuse you in any way and made a legitimate effort to take care of you, then I don't think you have anything to worry about."

"Frisk," Toriel quizzed, "do you remember where your old home is, your address, that is?"

"Y-Yeah," Frisk replied, "I couldn't forget it if I tried."

Toriel then got up from her chair, walked over to the fridge, and tore a note from the notepad stuck to the fridge, then she grabbed a pen off of one of the counters and returned to the table, setting the note and pen down in front of Frisk.

"Write it down." she advised.

"Huh?" the human child responded meekly.

"Frisk," Toriel told him, "we want this to be official, but, in order for us to be your adoptive parents we need the consent of your birth parents."

Frisk looked on tensely, but, soon relented and wrote the address down on the note paper.

"Hopefully he still lives there." the human boy stated, handing the note to Toriel.

After getting the note, Toriel went to the door leading to the backyard, where Alice Stein was waiting.

"Miss Stein," Toriel called, "we are ready to move forward with the process."

Alice approached the door.

"Frisk has provided us with his old address," the goat woman revealed, "so we can discuss with his birth father."

"Excellent," the social worker replied, "now, should the adoption be greenlit, this will be the form both of you with need to sign."

She pulled a document out of her folder and handed it to Toriel.

"With signing this form," Alice explained, "the biological parents would be legally giving up their parental rights and you would be taking up your rights as Frisk's legal parents."

"All right," Toriel voiced, "Asgore, get in the car, we are going to Frisk's old hone right now."

"Can I come along?" Sans asked.

"Why?" Asgore replied curiously.

"Eh," Sans said, "I'm curious."

"Is that allowed?" Toriel asked Alice.

"It is," the social worker affirmed, "honestly, it does help to have a witness present to make sure the form was filled out lawfully."

"Do...I have to go?" Frisk inquired warily.

"No, hon," Alice answered, "you don't have to be present."

"Good," Frisk sighed, "because, that would probably make it too awkward."

"It's okay," Asriel said, "I'll be here."

"Okay," Toriel said to Asgore and Sans, "let's go."

"Wait," Frisk called, "you might wanna wear some shoes, you never know if you'll step on something down there."

* * *

Finally, after getting what they needed, Toriel, Asgore, and Sans got into Toriel's SUV and began their drive to Frisk's old home. Though it was not long before Asgore noticed Toriel looking on edge.

"Are you okay?" Asgore asked her.

"Oh, just a little nervous," Toriel replied, "to be honest."

She kept her eyes on the road, though, she her anxiety was plain as day.

"I have been thinking about this for a while now," the goat woman expressed, "but...what if Frisk's parents do not want to give Frisk up? What if his father wants him back?"

"Toriel," Sans voiced, "everyone knows who we are, everyone knows Frisk, we are pretty easy to find, if Frisk's dad wanted him back so badly, he could've come for him a long time ago. Besides, if what Frisk said was true, child services probably wouldn't let him go back even if he wanted to."

"We will see." Toriel sighed anxiously.

* * *

Heads up, next chapter, we will veer into the dark territory.

Also, next chapter I will explain Frisk's dad's name and their surname.


	5. Chapter 5

Dark Corners

Chapter 5.

Okay, so, first up for the dark themes/implications: Teenage pregnancy and prostitution. If you are not okay with that, tread lightly, or back out if you must.

* * *

After nearly an hour of driving, Toriel, Asgore, and Sans found themselves in the inner city and immediately they saw a stark contrast between it and their own neighborhood. Unlike their neighborhood, where the infrastructures were well kept, the air was clean, and the faces of the residents were friendly, here the buildings ranged from passable condition to likely to be condemned. The street was riddled with crack and potholes, clearly it had not been worked on in ages, some of the street lights were either not working or missing lights all together, and some of the street signs were damaged. The residents they passed ranged from not even sparing them a glance to staring at them blankly, far from the welcoming atmosphere they knew back home.

"Are...we in the right place?" Asgore wondered, warily scanning the environment as they kept driving.

"If the address Frisk gave me is right." Toriel said, glancing side to side while trying to keep her eyes on the road.

"Honestly," Sans voiced, "this is about what I was expecting."

"How so?" Asgore responded.

"Well," the short skeleton said, "Frisk did say his old place was quite the opposite of our place...can't get more opposite than this."

As they kept driving, they passed buildings and dwellings that were plastered with graffiti, trashcans and dumpsters overflowing with garbage, alleys lined with heaps of filthy garbage bags, stray cats were scaling the infrastructures while stray dogs were searching the trash for food.

"Uh...Toriel..." Asgore spoke uncomfortably.

"We should be coming up on the address soon." she assured him, keeping her eyes forward.

After a few more minutes of driving, they made it to a dilapidated apartment building and one look was all it took to determine that is was no place for a child to live; graffiti covered the lower half of the building, all of it messages suggesting certain people to call "for a good time," the roof looked to be caving in, there were bricks missing side of building, as well as metal stakes wedged into various parts of the structure, some of the windows were broken or boarded up.

"Okay..." Toriel said uneasily, "here is our destination."

"_This_ is where Frisk used to live?" Asgore replied, appalled.

"Oh wow," Sans said, "now I get what Frisk meant when he said he couldn't forget his old address if he tried."

They all stared at the building for nearly a minute.

"Well," Toriel sighed, "let us not waste any more time."

The three of them finally got out of the vehicle and made their way to the front door of the apartment complex, as they went, Sans caught a glimpse of a suggestive graffiti message that appeared to mention "Mettle Thole."

Entering the building, they found that the inside was in no better condition than the outside, the walls of the lobby were filthy and riddled with holes of various sizes, the hardwood floor creaked harshly with every step they took, the air smelled of cigarettes and something grassy. At the front desk, there was a scruffy young woman, with green-dyed hair, scrolling through her phone with a vacant expression on her face. When she looked up from her phone and saw the three monsters standing at her desk, he expression barely changed, other than being a bit surprised, she hardly seemed fazed.

"Can I help you?" the girl asked dully.

"Um, yes," Toriel responded a bit restless, "we are looking for a man named...Mettle Thole."

The young woman's face lit up at the mention of the name.

"Hot Thole?" the green-haired girl voiced with interest, "Top floor, end of the hall on the right, apartment 500."

"Okay," Toriel replied, "thank you."

They got in the elevator and rode it to the top floor, when they stepped out, they saw a long, gray, brightly-lit hall lined with black doors marked with blue numbers. They walked to the end of hall, hearing various sounds as they passed each apartment, loud music, people talking, laughing, arguing, until they reached apartment 500, which was dead quiet.

Asgore reached out and knocked on the door, then they waited.

"Coming." they heard from the other side of the door, a man's voice.

Soon, the door opened to reveal a rail-thin young man with fair skin, short, disheveled brown hair, and light blue eyes, he was wearing a black, long-sleeved shirt and tattered gray jeans. He looked in awe at the three monsters.

"Uh, hello," Asgore said, "we are looking for a Mettle Thole, we were told that he lived in this apartment."

"Yeah," the young man responded, "_I'm_ Mettle Thole."

The reveal caught the three monsters off guard.

"You...are Mettle Thole," Toriel inquired in disbelief, "Frisk's _father_?"

The young man smiled placidly and nodded and Toriel looked away in bewilderment.

"Um..." Asgore spoke awkwardly, "we are-"

"I know who you are, everyone knows," Mettle interjected tranquilly, "you're Asgore, Toriel, and you're Sans."

Toriel rubbed the back of her neck and smiled politely.

"Mr. Thole," she voiced, "we came to talk to you about Frisk."

Mettle smiled, but, suddenly looked fearful.

"You didn't bring him here with you, did you?" he questioned nervously.

"No, no," Toriel assured him, "he is back at our house."

"Oh, okay," Mettle sighed with relief, "good."

He stared at the ground for a moment.

"Mr. Thole," Toriel quizzed mildly, "I am sorry if this is intrusive, but, I have to ask...how old are you?"

Mettle looked up, not visibly bothered.

"I'm 24." he answered calmly.

He then turned to open the door to his apartment all the way.

"Frisk is 8...right?" Asgore mumbled to Toriel.

She answered him with a nod and Asgore counted on his fingers.

"Oh...my..." the goat man murmured uneasily.

"Well," the young man said, "come on, let's talk inside."

The three monsters followed him into the apartment and immediately they could see just how small it was, with a small, carpeted area with a cheap, beat-up couch, a coffee table, and an old television on a small, wooden stand, presumably the 'living room' area. Connected to it was the small kitchen area with a refrigerator, counter, oven, and sink, with a few cabinets lined on the wall and a cheap fold out table with a few folding chairs around it.

As she passed the fridge, Toriel saw that it was covered in newspaper clippings, all regarding Frisk as the monsters, which made her smile.

Mettle pulled a couple of the folding chairs from the table near the kitchen and placed them by the coffee table, one of which he sat down on. Toriel and Asgore sat on the couch, while Sans took the other folding chair.

"Sorry there's not many comfortable places to sit in here." Mettle said awkwardly.

"That is no problem," Toriel replied, "we should not be too long."

"Now," the young man pressed, "about Frisk?"

"Yes," Toriel spoke, just now remembering the adoption form in her hand, "we were hoping to talk to you about Frisk's living arrangement."

"He has been staying with us for a while," Asgore added, "did you know that?"

Mettle nodded.

"Oh yes," he affirmed, "I've watched the news, read the paper, and checked the news sites every day since we found out about you guys."

"So...you are okay with the fact that Frisk has been staying with us?" Toriel inquired.

"Oh certainly," Mettle voiced, "I tell you, I was scared to death when I came home from work and saw Frisk gone."

He turned around and grabbed something out of a nearby drawer.

"This is the note Frisk left me the day he ran off." he clarified.

He handed the piece of white not paper to Asgore and he, Toriel and Sans looked at it.

The note read:

"Dear Daddy, thank you so much for being the best dad you could be for me,

you took such good care of me and gave me so much with so little.

You work so hard, but, I think enough is enough, I'm tired of seeing

you come home hurt, I'm tired of seeing you go hungry, and not get

enough sleep, just to provide for me. You've done so much for me, now,

I am going to do something for you, I am going to find a new place to live,

so you don't have to worry about me anymore. If we meet again, hopefully

things will be better by then. I love you and always will.

Your son, Frisk."

The monsters looked at the note, dumbfounded, it was pretty much what Frisk had told them at the house, he really did climb the mountain to make life easier for his dad.

"Due to...work stuff...it actually took me a few days to get home," Mettle explained, "so, I had no way of knowing when Frisk would've left or how far he had gone, I actually ran around the neighborhood for almost ten minutes looking for him, calling him, before someone I work with showed me a newspaper about Frisk and the monsters."

"Did you ever consider coming to get Frisk?" Sans asked.

"It was an immediate thought," the young human man expressed, "but, when I got information about you guys, I saw more stuff on the news about the new monster society and where Frisk was staying with you guys, I decided...there was no rush."

Mettle looked down at his clasped hands.

"With you guys I saw that he was happy and healthy," he went on, "he had friends, friends his age, there are no kids for him to play with around here, none that I'd want him to interact with, when I saw that I just...I couldn't find it in me to bring him back here, where there's nothing for him."

Toriel and Asgore looked on solicitously, while Sans was eyeing the telltale abrasions on Mettle's wrists, like they had been bound with something recently. There were also miniscule cuts on his knuckles, some looked recently healed, while some looked fresh. At that moment he got up from his seat and started to look around.

"I'm sorry," Mettle said penitently, "I know it's selfish, I should've said something instead of, basically, dumping Frisk on you-"

"No, no, do not worry," Toriel expressed reassuringly, "Frisk came to us of his own volition and we have been taking good care of him, I swear, we love Frisk to death, he is practically family to all of monsterkind, Asgore and I have a son of our own back home and he and Frisk are the best of friends, practically brothers."

The young human man smile gratefully in response.

At the same time, Sans glanced inside the bathroom and saw what looked like makeup by the bathroom sink. Discreetly using his telekinetic powers, he opened the medicine cabinet and noticed a bottle of cheap, over the counter, painkillers, a bottle of designer cologne, and designer perfume. He quickly shut the cabinet.

"Speaking of family, Mr. Thole," Toriel voiced, "the main thing we wanted to come talk to you about is...this."

She placed the adoption form down in front of him.

"We found out today that we meet all the qualifications to legally adopt Frisk," the goat woman continued, "all we need is...the permission of the birth parents."

Mettle stared at the adoption form for a moment before his eyes lit up.

"Yes," he professed hopefully, "yes, one hundred percent, yes, I need a pen!"

"Right here." Sans called from the other side of the room and tossed a pen to Mettle, who caught it. He then turned his head towards the little, shabby dresser right next to him. Using his telekinetic powers, he carefully pulled the top drawer open and saw a black trench coat, along with what looked like a little card. He used his power to pick the card up and found that it was some kind of business card, one side of it was vividly colored and had black, glittery letters spelling out "Indigo Inferno" along with an address, the other side of the card said, "Mustang" along with another version of the address and a phone number.

"You're really okay with giving up your parental rights?" Asgore queried to Mettle.

Mettle smiled peacefully, looking down at the adoption form.

"All I've ever wanted was to give Frisk a good life, there's nothing I wouldn't do for my son," he expressed, "Frisk needs a home, a family, a future, but, _this_ is not a home, I am not enough, and there is no future here for him, not a favorable one, at least."

With that, Sans closed his eyes and pushed the dresser drawer closed.

"I get it." the short skeleton mumbled to himself.

Mettle signed his name on the form, with Toriel and Asgore filling out the areas they needed to as well.

"Good, we are nearly done," Toriel said blissfully, "now all we need is Frisk's mother's signature."

As soon as she said that, Mettle's eyes went wide, his expression unreadable.

"You..._need_...Frisk's mother's signature?" responded tensely.

"It is, as the social worker said, a formality," Toriel explained, "we need the consent of _both_ birth parents to take Frisk in."

Mettle looked on anxiously, then closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

"Okay." he said breathlessly.

"Is there any way we can get in touch with Frisk's mother?" Asgore asked.

"Finding her...isn't an issue," Mettle told him hesitantly, "I...work for her."

"You work for Frisk's mother?" a surprised Toriel responded, "Frisk never mentioned that."

"He doesn't know." the young man stated.

"Well," Sans said, "Frisk did say that he didn't even know his mom's name."

"He doesn't know her and I would prefer it stayed that way." Mettle asserted.

The monsters looked at him curiously.

"Look," Mettle said, "just, leave it to me, give me the form, I'll get her to sign it."

"Okay, but," Toriel informed him, "but, we were told that someone should be present to make sure the form is properly filled out."

Mettle looked uneasy.

"I'll go with him." Sans spoke up.

"Are you sure, Sans?" Toriel inquired.

"Yeah," the short skeleton said, "it's probably best that we didn't all go, plus, if anything goes wrong, I can offer a quick exit."

"That could work." Mettle responded.

* * *

Mettle went to his dresser and got out the black trench coat Sans had seen, putting it on, oddly enough it seemed a couple sizes too big for him.

"Are you sure you want to walk there?" Toriel inquired curiously, "We could easily go there in our vehicle."

"It's fine," Mettle said, "the amount of times I've walked that route I could walk it backwards with my eyes closed, also, where we're going you really don't wanna leave your vehicle unguarded, walking is the better choice."

"We'll be fine, Tori." Sans assured her.

With that the short skeleton and young human man left the apartment, it was a silent walk to the elevator, minus any noise they heard from the other apartments. The entire time, Sans studied Mettle's pensive expression. There was one thing he had been unable to overlook the moment Mettle opened his door to them and that was the particularly dead look in his eyes, like half the time he was not there, like he had done something wrong.

As soon as they got on the elevator, Sans decided to look into the theory he had been building all night.

"Hey, so," the short skeleton finally asked, "maybe I'm wrong, but, it's gonna bother me until I know for sure, so, I gotta ask...you're a sex worker aren't you?"

Mettle looked at him, surprised, but, he very quickly closed his eyes, shamefaced, and nodded softly.

* * *

Now, about Frisk's dad's name:

**Mettle means:** A person's ability to cope well with difficulties or to face a demanding situation in a spirited and resilient way.

**Thole means:** Endure (something) without complaint or resistance.


	6. Chapter 6

Dark Corners

Chapter 6.

Dark themes/implications for this chapter: Prostitution (again), Drugs (mentioned/alluded to), Abuse (alluded to), Sexual Violence (alluded to).

I hope to God this is subtle enough that I do not need to up the rating.

* * *

"So," a resigned Mettle asked, as he and Sans walked out of the apartment building, "what gave it away?"

"Well," Sans voiced, "in my light research and exploration into different parts of human society I've come to find out that...streetwalking, hooking, harlotry, 'the life', whatever you wanna call it, is pretty common in area like this. I noticed your name among the "call for a good time" graffiti on the outside of your apartment complex, I noticed makeup, pricey cologne, and perfume in your bathroom, also saw an...interesting business card in your dresser...and, as far as I'm concerned, there is way too much guilt, shame, and resignation behind your eyes to just come from struggling as a single parent. All that, plus Frisk's account of you constantly coming home injured, brought me to that conclusion."

Mettle nodded stoically.

"Sorry for snooping around your place." Sans said.

"Ah, it's fine," the young human man replied, "I don't have anything that I need to safeguard."

"You're not worried about that expensive cologne or perfume?" Sans quipped mildly.

"First off, do you know how high you would have to be to even wanna jack cologne or perfume?" Mettle retorted, "Second, I hate wearing it, I'd actually welcome it disappearing...then again, if it did, my bitch boss would just replace it."

"Your boss being..." Sans started.

"Yes," Mettle confirmed, "Frisk's mother."

As they continued walking, they soon arrived at a very different part of town, both sides of the street were lined with buildings meant for "adult" entertainment. Everywhere they looked their eyes were assaulted by the nearly blinding light of the abundant neon signs.

"So...this is a red light district." Sans voiced awkwardly.

"We call this 'the raft'," Mettle explained, "because, and if I ever find out who came up with this analogy I will whip a glass ashtray at them, when the tides of society pull you out into the forsaken sea, this right here is the last possible hope you have for staying afloat. You can either hang on for dear life or sink below and drown...God, I feel stupid for even repeating that out loud."

"Wow..." Sans replied inquisitively, "but, really, a glass ashtray, specifically?"

"They're easy to get around here," the young man affirmed, "they're lightweight enough to pick up and throw with ease, but, goddamn if they don't do damage when they make contact."

An astonished Sans kept looking forward.

"So, I've been meaning to ask," Sans inquired, "how does Frisk's mother feel about his new living arrangement?"

"Uh...given that I have to remind her who Frisk is literally _every_ time I mention him to her," Mettle expressed bitterly, "I think it's safe to say she doesn't give a shit, she very seldom cares about anything not related to money, work, or hedonism."

Sans nodded soberly.

"What's her name, by the way?" the skeleton finally asked.

"Slake, Slake Pander," Mettle answered, "but, around here she goes by...*sigh*...Paragon."

"She pick the name or did she earn it?" Sans wondered.

"She picked it and everyone else entertains it." Mettle stated.

"Gross." Sans groaned in disgust.

"I know." the young human man said flatly.

* * *

Finally, after walking for so long, Sans and Mettle made it to the building Sans saw on Mettle's business card, the "Indigo Inferno". It was impossible to miss as it was the biggest building in the district. The outside of the building was a pale purple with the name Indigo Inferno on the front in huge, obnoxious blue neon letters.

"Well," Mettle said, "here we are."

"I see that." Sans stated.

There were two adult humans standing outside the building's front entrance, one, a platinum blond woman in a slate gray tube top, a black, leather miniskirt, and midnight blue high heel shoes who was holding some kind of device in her hand. Next to her was a strapping man with medium length, black hair, wearing a black, leather vest, dark blue jeans, and brown boots. They quickly noticed the young human man approaching the entrance.

"Ah, Mustang," the woman said to Mettle, "coming in awfully early aren't y-AHHH!" she shrieked when she noticed the skeleton standing next to him, nearly dropping the device in her hands.

"Boo." Sans said flatly.

"We need to talk to the boss," Mettle explained, "where is she?"

"In her office," the vest-wearing man said, "last we knew."

"Let's get this over with." Mettle sighed.

They entered through the front door and found the inside to be even more lurid than the outside. Harsh lights lined a black ceiling, which made them stand out even more, the floor was a deep blue and silver, glittery marble material, and the walls were lined with indigo velvet. There were two large bars on each side of the building, one with a male bartender and the other with a female, there were two stages straight ahead, on one was a female exotic dancer and on the other was a male exotic dancer.

All around, they saw people smoking and drinking, lustful clientele of all genders and races socializing with employees of the establishment, also of all genders and races. They could even see people readily handing generous amounts of money to the employees they were interacting with.

"You know, something just occurred to me," a mildly unsettled Sans voiced, "we're not yet one hundred percent sure whether or not us monsters can contract human diseases, I think I'm gonna refrain from touching anything."

"Understandable," Mettle said, "I hate even breathing in here."

The young human man led the short skeleton past all the activity and insanity of the floor and to a door hidden far back in the corner behind a red curtain. Through the door was a long hallway with red walls and a black carpeted floor.

Sans looked at Mettle questioningly.

"Back here is where I work most of the time," the young man explained, "where most of the big money is made."

After what felt like forever, they made it to a dark blue door with a shiny, silver doorknob; after a moment of hesitation, Mettle pounded his fist against the door a few time. Soon, a small slot opened on the door, revealing a pair of ice blue eyes that widened at the sight of Mettle.

"Ah, M-Mettle," a young male voice spoke timidly, "you're...e-early."

"Hey, Reticent," Mettle voiced placidly, "you're on door task tonight?"

"Yes," the voice replied, looking to the side, "so...what brings you in so early?"

"I need to see the boss about something." Mettle answered.

The door was finally came open, revealing a blond, fair-skinned young man, who could not have been any older than twenty years old, in a long-sleeved, royal blue, silk shirt that was clearly a few sizes too big for him, which was open, revealing no undershirt, black skinny jeans, and blue dress boots.

"Sh-She's in her office," Reticent said, "you know...counting money."

"Right," Mettle replied coolly, "thanks."

Sans followed Mettle further into the new area, which was brightly colored, but, had muted lighting and the scent of cigarettes, something grassy, and an unsavory mix of hygiene and beauty products. The walls were lined with cushy chairs, many of which were occupied by young men and women of all shapes and sizes, dressed in either flashy or revealing clothing. They all looked different, but, one thing they all had in common was the particularly dead look in their eyes, some more than other, possibly indicating how long they had been in...that line of work. If it were not for the people sitting up, breathing, or blinking Sans would have sworn he was in a morgue.

Eventually, they came to a white door on a tiled wall, after a moment of mental preparation, Mettle pounded his fist on the door a few times.

"Who is it?" a female voice called curtly from the other side of the door.

"It's...Mustang." Mettle answered flatly.

"Enter." the female voice responded, this time sweetly.

"You can watch through one of the Spy Tiles over there or over there." Mettle told Sans, pointing to both sides of the of the wall around the door.

As Mettle entered the room, Sans walked over to the right side of the wall and found what he had been referring to, a loose tile that lifted up, revealing an opening in the wall.

Inside the room, which had the brightest lighting, that Sans had seen, in the building, was a big, black and gray, marble top desk, at which an adult woman was sitting. The woman had piles, in varying sizes, of dollar bills and coins lining the desk. From what Sans could see, the woman had long black hair and was wearing a black picture hat and a clearly high-quality, pricey red jacket. The only physical trait she had that indicated her relation to Frisk was her skin color.

"Paragon." Mettle huffed curtly.

"Ah, Mustang," the woman voiced patronizingly, "you're early tonight and you've come straight to my office, either you've finally given up spurning me...or you want something."

"Oh...God..." Sans muttered, "bitch alert."

"She_ is_ a bitch." he heard someone mutter close by.

Sans looked and saw the blond young man from earlier, Reticent, looking through one of the Spy Tiles on the opposite end of the wall.

Mettle strode straight up to the desk and promptly slammed down the adoption form among the piles of money.

"All I need is for you to sign this," the brown-haired young man affirmed, "do that and I'll be on my way."

The woman looked at him expectantly.

"Um..." she prompted, "what is it that you're asking me to sign?"

"A family wants to adopt Frisk," Mettle explained, "and they need our signatures to make it happen."

Slake looked on with a clueless expression on her face, which incited Mettle to slam both his hands down on the desk, causing some of the money to slide off.

"Frisk, my _son_," Mettle declared furiously, "my son that_ you_ gave birth to, my son that I had to _literally** buy**_ from you, you know _damn well_ who I'm talking about!"

"All right, all right, I got it." Slake groaned, feigning exasperation.

"What does that mean..." Sans wondered quietly, "he 'literally bought' Frisk from her?"

"My understanding of that is," Reticent whispered, "when he found out she was pregnant with Frisk, he decided that he wanted the baby, he promised her that he'd do more work, any work that she wanted him to do, if she let him have Frisk."

"_Frisk didn't mention that_," Sans thought, "_then again, I'd wager he probably doesn't know...I don't think he should._"

Slake looked over the adoption form.

"Wait," she questioned, "if I've had nothing to do with this kid, how come_ I_ have to sign this?"

"I didn't make the rules," Mettle huffed insistently, "just sign the damn paper and I'll never bother you about Frisk ever again!"

"I don't know," Slake voiced dubiously, "this feels so much like a conversation we've had before."

She leaned back in her seat, crossing her arms behind her head.

"What do I get out of it?" the raven-haired woman pressed haughtily, "What more do you have to offer? You know damn well I don't do any favors for free."

Mettle stared at her intently for a moment, then, closed his eyes, took a deep breath and exhaled.

"Sign the paper," he voiced dispassionately, "and I'll work extra hard to earn back all the money I now owe you."

"Wha-" Slake started to respond.

Without a shred of hesitation, Mettle snatched up as much of the paper money he could from the desk and irately began to tear it apart with his hands and even his teeth, while Slake watched in horror. Mettle ended it by unceremoniously spitting a mouth full of the torn up money straight into her face.

"Holy Christ." a stunned Sans said.

"Isn't he amazing?" Reticent expressed quietly, "Mettle's never afraid to pull no punches, I wish I could be like that."

Slake looked pathetically at the tattered remains of her precious money scattered across her desk and on the floor.

"Th...th..." she faltered in dismay, "that was...like...ten...maybe fifteen thousand dollars you just destroyed!"

"Yes, Madam," Mettle expressed derisively, "and like I said, if you just sign the goddamn paper, I will work extra hard to earn back all of it and then some."

Slake looked disdainfully at the adoption form and whipped out a pen.

"You're lucky you're my favorite, you know," she said steely, signing the form, "I just can't help but spoil you."

As soon as she finished signing the paper, Mettle took it away.

"That'll be all..._boss_." he stated snidely.

The young brunette man then walked out of the room, Slake watching intently as he went, and held up the adoption form for Sans to see.

"Got it," Mettle said, "now let's go, I'm sure your friends are tired of waiting."

He and Sans began to make their way back the way they came, Reticent watching longingly as they went.

* * *

Sometime later, Mettle and Sans were walking the way back to the apartment complex, where Toriel and Asgore were still waiting.

"I'm surprised you actually got away with doing that." Sans said, referring to Mettle decimating Slake's money.

"Oh, don't be too impressed," Mettle replied, "I'll definitely pay for it when I go back in to work, I imagine she'll give me even more time in 'the Hole'."

"What's 'the Hole'?" Sans asked.

"It's a room where you..." the young man explained tentatively, "hit up nitrous oxide and...just lie there while the customary does...whatever they want to you."

Sans looked at him unsurely, hoping what he just said was a joke that would be followed up with a punchline.

"Being so...very in demand at the 'Inferno'," Mettle continued tensely "I work that room quite often, probably more so than any one else working there."

"Jesus..." Sans mumbled.

"But, then again," Mettle voiced bitterly, "quite a few times I did work 'the Hole' voluntarily."

"Why?" the skeleton asked spontaneously.

Mettle groaned meekly.

"Because, sometimes Slake would try to make unqualified employees work it," he explained soberly, "and by 'unqualified' I mean not physically or mentally prepared to work that kind of position. Whenever I saw that, I couldn't stand to let it happen, so, I'd volunteer to take their place."

Sans just nodded comprehensively.

"That's...actually why I was gone when Frisk left," Mettle added, "I went in to work 'the Hole' one night and well...let's just say I had a particularly..._rough_ client, who put me out for a few days."

"_So...it wasn't just Frisk he was working so hard for..._" Sans thought.

"Oh well," the young man huffed, "it's nothing I'm not used too, you live here your whole life eventually the numbness sets in."

Then he smiled weakly.

"But," he sighed, "at least I don't have to worry about Frisk growing into that anymore."

Sans nodded again.

* * *

Toriel and Asgore were still in Mettle's apartment, waiting for him and Sans to get back; Asgore was still sitting in his seat, counting the holes in the wall, while Toriel was looking in the cupboards, noting the meager stock within.

"I hope everything is going okay," Asgore said, breaking the long held silence, "they've been gone for quite a while."

"Well, they did walk," Toriel sighed, looking at a hot plate that was on the kitchen counter, "I am sure they are fine, Sans would have brought them back if something went wrong."

She could not get over how surprisingly clean the apartment was, compared to everywhere outside of it, it was clear that, despite his unsavory surroundings, Mettle was by no means a slob.

Toriel took another look at the front of the refrigerator, which was plastered with newspaper clippings, all of them about Frisk and monsterkind. The one that was most front and center was one from when the monsters had most recently come to the surface. It showed Frisk with his monster "family", being held up by Toriel and Asgore, looking pleased as punch.

Toriel smiled, remembering the excitement of that day, when that picture was taken, however, as she looked at all the pictures, she felt a wave of guilt overtake her. It had been a feeling she had even since they had gotten there, the whole time Frisk had been with her and the others, living, having fun, slowly but surely changing society, he had a parent at home who loved and, quite clearly, missed him. To be fair, of course, when they first got to the surface, Toriel did ask Frisk if he had anywhere he had to go and the child insisted that he wanted to stay with her, it only made sense to assume that he had nobody to go back to. However, at the same time, she thought about how badly Frisk wanted to get back to the surface, it only made sense that he had a reason for fighting so hard to go back. She decided right then, later on, no matter what happened now, a talk was in order.

Just then, they heard the door open and in walked Mettle and Sans.

"Oh, thank goodness you made it back," Asgore voiced, "how did it go?"

Mettle smiled as he held the adoption form up for them to see.

"Frisk is all yours." he said peacefully.

Toriel gladly took the adoption form, reading it over joyfully, but, tried to control her enthusiasm.

"Oh, uh...I promise you will not regret this, sir," she said docilely, "we will continue to take good care of Frisk."

"I trust you." Mettle affirmed.

"Well, um..." Asgore inquired, "Should we...go home?"

"It would probably be best," Mettle voiced, "it's getting late, the kids should probably be going to bed soon, and...I have to get ready for work."

Sans looked on prudently.

"Well..." Toriel said, "I guess we are done here, time to go home."

"Hold on," Mettle announced, "before you go, I wanna give you something."

He quickly went into a room further back in the apartment and soon came back with a blue, plastic bin.

"These are Frisk's old things," the young man expressed, "he probably doesn't even want them, if that ends up being the case, go ahead and pitch them, but...they're not getting anymore use here, so...please, take them."

Out of curiosity, Toriel immediately opened the bin to look at the stuff inside, a small, neat stack of clothing, small shoes, some old toys, and some plastic cups. She had to stop herself from asking if that was _all_ Frisk had there, feeling it would be insensitive.

"Knowing Frisk," Asgore said, "if there's anything in there that he does not want or cannot use he will opt to donate it."

"I believe it," Mettle said placidly, "Frisk is a good boy."

With that, they decided it was finally time to go home.

* * *

Okay, this got so long, I _had_ to split it into two chapters.

I am sorry the intro of Frisk's mother was not longer, but, I think it is safe to say this will not be the last time she shows up in a fic, it certainly will not be the last time Mettle shows up.

**Slake** means: to satisfy desires

**Pander** means: gratify or indulge an immoral or distasteful desire, need, or habit

I thought it worked because she is a greedy pimp.

**Reticent:** basically another word for shy


	7. Chapter 7

Dark Corners

Chapter 7.

Here we go, finally, the last chapter.

We are finally away from the dark stuff, for now.

* * *

When they got into the SUV, they found that it was already 8:00 p.m..

"Well," Asgore said, "that ended up going better than I expected."

"Yes," Toriel sighed tranquilly, "I cannot wait to tell Frisk and Asriel, everyone is going to be thrilled."

In the backseat, Sans was staring pensively at the bin full of Frisk old things, it all looked so...cheap, serviceable at best, just like everything else in Mettle's apartment. At the same time, he also thought about the amount of money he saw on Slake's desk, before Mettle went ham on it, and the fact that money seemed to be her "passion". She had no shortage of money, yet, Frisk and his dad appeared to have barely been scraping by, then of course, the fact that she was obviously, in general, a terrible person.

"So...Sans," Toriel suddenly prompted, "please, tell me...what was she like?"

"Huh?" Sans responded as his attention was called.

"Frisk's mother, that...Slake, I think her name was," Toriel pressed, "what was she like?"

Sans hesitated to answer, glancing at the bin again, wondering how much to actual tell her and how to explain it.

"Well, she...is nothing like Frisk," he voiced tentatively, "Mettle was right to not let Frisk meet her."

"Oh...I see." Toriel responded.

That answer seemed to suffice as she did not ask for further details, thankfully, in Sans mind it was probably for the best that he wait before explaining the entire situation in full detail to them. Honestly, he was ready for the day to be over.

* * *

At home, Frisk and Asriel were upstairs in their bedroom, dressed in their pajamas, since it was quite late; Asriel was sitting on the floor with Frisk huddled against him, clinging to his shirt, head buried in his shoulder. They had been this way for a while, ever since Asgore, Toriel, and Sans left, Frisk seemed to get more and more anxious as time passed. By this point, Frisk simply did not want to be left alone, not the Asriel could bring himself to do so even if he had wanted too. This was certainly the most distressed he had ever seen the human boy since they had met.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, their wait was over.

"Children," they heard Toriel call, "we are home!"

The children wasted no time getting downstairs where they found the parents and Sans.

"Mom, Dad," Asriel asked, Frisk clinging to his arm, "how did it go?"

Frisk said nothing, though he was clearly waiting for an answer.

Toriel gladly held up the signed adoption form.

"You are all ours, Frisk." she said peacefully.

The human child responded by exhaling, practically wheezing, deeply, audibly, reeling back in shock and relief, Asriel grabbed his arms, afraid he would fall over. Frisk then jumped into Toriel's arms, as did Asriel, with Asgore affectionately rubbing both children's heads.

"Is Miss Stein still here?" Toriel asked.

"She's in the kitchen." Asriel answered.

Toriel and Sans went into the kitchen, where Alice was sitting at the kitchen table across from Undyne and Papyrus, just in time to catch the tale end of a conversation between them.

"No," Alice said awkwardly, "there is not a 'pound' for orphaned children, it is called an 'orphanage', and they most certainly _do not_ put down the children who are not adopted."

"Um...hello." Toriel voiced.

When she got their attention, she held up the adoption form.

"We got the form signed." the goat woman affirmed happily.

"Saw both the birth parents sign it myself." Sans stated.

"Excellent," the social worker replied, taking the form, "I'll take this with me and, in about a day or so, we will get back to you about post-placement evaluations."

"Post-placement evaluation..." Toriel responded warily, "we are not done?"

"No need to worry," Alice said, "it's what we do with all adoptions, every so often, we will come through to make sure everyone is doing okay in the arrangement. Given what I saw today, I'd say you didn't have anything to worry about."

The goat woman sighed with relief.

* * *

After the social worker left, everyone in the house breathed a sigh of relief, almost simultaneously.

"Frisk," Asgore said, "your dad gave us some of your old stuff, if you want it."

"Show me, show me!" Frisk responded eagerly.

The goat man placed the blue, plastic bin on the coffee table and, as soon as the lid was off, Frisk pulled it towards himself and immediately started digging through it. Frisk gasped and pulled out a small toy, a blue, plush puppy, that squeaked when squeezed.

"This was the first toy Daddy ever bought me!" he announced happily.

Frisk looked in the bin again.

"Oh," he said giddly, "my cups!"

He picked up a little stack of child-sized, plastic cups, that were each a color of the rainbow.

"Daddy bought me these cups when I was finally old enough to drink without a sippy cup." Frisk explained.

He looked in the bin again.

"Oh," the human boy said, "speaking of which."

He reached in and pulled out an old sippy cup.

However, as he looked at all the stuff, he quickly turned confused.

"Why did Dad keep all this stuff if I wasn't there anymore?" he wondered, "I know most of these clothes and these old shoes don't fit me anymore, these cups are too small for him to use, and he certainly doesn't play with toys."

"Well, Frisk," Toriel said, "you daddy said that he wanted you to decide what to do with it, whether to keep it, give it away, or simply discard it."

"Well, since it's all still in usable condition," Frisk replied, "I think I'd rather give some of it away than throw it out."

"I think we can save that for tomorrow," Asgore offered, "it's gotten awfully late."

"Yes..." Toriel voiced, "but, first...Frisk...we need to talk."

* * *

While everyone else went to turn in, Frisk and Toriel went to the kitchen, both of them taking a seat at the table.

"Well, it was quite a long day," Toriel spoke mildly, "was it not?"

"It felt like it would never end." Frisk stated.

There was a moment of silence.

"So...you met my dad." the human boy said meekly.

"We did," Toriel replied, "he was so nice."

"Right?" Frisk said contently, "Daddy's, like, the nicest person, human, ever."

"You really love your father," Toriel inquired, "do you not, Frisk?"

"I do!" the human boy affirmed.

There was another moment of silence.

"Well, then..." she prompted, "how come you never mentioned him before?"

Frisk looked to the side.

"You never mentioned him in the Underground," Toriel continued, "and when we got to the surface, you said that you had nowhere else that you had to go and you never mentioned your father. We talked to your father, he was very worried when you left, Frisk, and from what I saw, he clearly missed you very much."

The human boy now looked contrite.

"I know," he expressed penitently, "I'm sorry, but, I already explained why I climbed the mountain, you know that part, but, I was afraid if I told you about him...you'd make me go back to him."

"Frisk, if you had told me about your father and I went to his place like I did tonight," Toriel attested, "I assure, I would not have made you go back there and your father said that the reason he did not come to get you himself is because he knew you were safe and sound with us."

Frisk looked on thoughtfully.

"I see, I'm sorry," the human child said, "I loved my dad, I still do, but, I climbed the mountain and I chose to stay with you guys, because, I wanted to put that life behind me."

He then looked nervous.

"But, like I said," he quickly added, "I love you guys, I wouldn't have asked to stay if I didn't, I could've easily gone somewhere, so, please, believe me, I love you, Toriel!"

"I know, Frisk," Toriel assured him, "I believe you wholeheartedly and you know we love you too."

They sat in silence for one more moment.

"Frisk," the goat woman expressed, "the next time you see daddy, I want you to apologize for running away, your intentions may have been good and your deeds yielded good things, but, still, you left home without telling anyone, if something bad would have happened too you, if you had never made it back to the surface, your poor father would have been left worrying about you forever."

Frisk was looking down, but, he clearly heard everything she said.

"The least you can do is apologize." Toriel stated.

The human boy nodded.

"I will." he said meekly.

"Good," Toriel voiced, "all right, now, I would say it is finally time for bed."

* * *

Toriel carried Frisk, who by this point was exhausted, upstairs to his and Asriel's bedroom, Asriel was already in bed, though, he was still awake, clearly waiting for his mother and Frisk. Toriel laid the human boy down in his bed and covered him up.

"Now," the goat woman said, "good night, Frisk."

She planted a kiss on the human boy's forehead.

"Good night." Frisk said tiredly.

Toriel then walked over to Asriel's bed.

"And good night to you, Asriel." his mother said.

"Good night, Mom." Asriel replied as his mother kissed his forehead.

The goat woman then walked over and turned out the light before leaving the room.

"Good night, Frisk." Asriel said.

Although, he saw that the human boy was already asleep.

"He he, it was a long day," the goat child laughed softly, "sleep tight, little brother."

* * *

And it is done at last.

Yeah, I know this story is probably pretty outlandish as far as "Frisk origins" go, but, I came up with this idea and just had to run with it. It probably is not original by any means, but, I wanted to have the monsters encounter the darker parts of human society without going with the, all too easy, "abusive parents" angle.


End file.
